Hasta La Ideas

New work by some of the city’s best and brightest

While we keep Cool Hunting’s scope international, our location in the center of the universe often means only going so far as Brooklyn to find the latest nascent talent. Occasionally, we find work so exemplary that it reaffirms what makes us casually toss off such superlatives. The following—a painter, jeweler and writer—represent not just some of the city’s finest, but those who we’ve watched refine and evolve their work over time. But to say they’ve arrived would discredit the already significant successes to their names; let’s just say they’re here.

Mathew Cerletty: Susan

His first solo show in New York since 2007 and his first at up-and-coming gallery Algus Greenspon, Mathew Cerletty’s new body of work consists of seven paintings with interior spaces and home decor as subjects. We previewed some of the work in his studio and can report strong images ranging from still-lifes that play on the strangely appealing photography of furniture catalogs to playful geometric patterns in washed-out pastels—all with the self-aware remove that defines his aesthetic. The focus on physical surroundings nods to the psychological signifiers of his earlier figurative work, while also continuing his “inverse of Pop” practice. Opening this Saturday, 5 November 2011, the exhibition runs through 17 December 2011.

Nikolai Rose

When we recently complimented these jangles around the neck of Justin Miller (the NYC-based DFA DJ), we didn’t even recognize it as the work of creative partnership Nikolai Rose. The brand originally launched with a line of ties, which look better than ever this season, and a single pendant necklace, but it now includes rings, tie bars, pins and even handmade silver buttons that manage to be both incredibly precious and incredibly cute. Our favorite has to be the 32-inch-long chains with lengths of bone or metal. Check Opening Ceremony, Assembly and the Nikolai Rose site to purchase.

Brazilian Style by Armand Limnander

Colombian native and W Magazine editor Armand Limnander (who also earned an M.A. in Latin American Studies) might be uniquely qualified to write a book on Brazil, but after ringing in the new year with him all the way until sunrise, it would seem his singular dedication to fun might be the most winning. The well-edited content consists of full-bleed photos and pithy captions, giving equal time to chic subjects that range from the monster waterfalls in the north to Living legend Oscar Niemeyer’s Copan building, and making an extremely stylish case for a country due to be the focus of so much economic and sporting attention in the near future. Get a copy from Assouline.

Last night D&AD launched it’s most sustainably produced annual to date. Published by Taschen and the brainchild of D&AD President and AllOfUs founder, Sanky along with Nat Hunter of Airside and graphic designer Harry Pearce of Pentagram, its carbon footprint is an impressive 82% smaller than that of last year’s edition…

Questioning every element of the processes involved in producing such a tome, the team considered not actually making a physical book. “We looked into creating a digital version of the Annual,” says Hunter, “but when you consider the huge amount of energy consumed in hosting large files on servers for decades to come – and the possibility that many people would print them out on inefficient printers, the benefits became less convincing. So we reduced the amount of materials used, made it a stunningly beautiful object so it’s not likely to ever end up in a landfill site, but if it does… it’s fully compostible.”

Instead of cheap pulp from South America, the book uses 100% recycled material from Austria (to the highest international environmental standard) where 70% of electricity comes from Hydro power. The pulp was made into wood-free, RecyStar Polar 80gsm paper. Thanks to making the paper stock as light as possible (and leaving it uncoated), this year’s Annual is almost a kilo lighter than last year’s. As well as weight, distances travelled were reduced which meant less fuel was consumed in the production and shipping of the books.

Pentagram’s Harry Pearce’s editorial design also contributed to the extra light annual: fewer images were used than in previous years – if a piece of work won in more than one category, the image/s were not duplicated. There are also no chapter dividers in the book but rather three section dividers. The limited edition D&AD member’s version delineates categories with thumbcuts in the pages – thus saving even more weight. Pearce’s layout too is lean, there is no superfluous page furniture or decoration.

The book is printed with soy-based inks and the hard cover sports a compostible laminate.

Regarding the cover, Pearce says: “Alan Fletcher was a dear friend of mine for one thing, and as a designer, all your career the D&AD logo floats around you – it’s an intriguing mark (designed in 1962 by Fletcher Forbes Gill the studio that later became Pentagram) and the use of it has become quieter and quieter each year. I thought it would be great to bring it in to the fore this year.

“Instead of just reproducing it we made models of it using white paper and card,” Pearce continues, “and worked with photographer Richard Foster who took shots of and filmed the models in his studio lit by a single source of light. Once we’d discovered where the most poignant, descriptive moment was with the shadows – that’s when we took the image. It’s an exploration of [the D&AD logo] really – showing a bit of relish for the actual mark.”

D&AD members’ special edition not only sports thumbcuts – but also Pearce’s signature:

And finally, here are the stats for this year’s annual production’s carbon footprint as compared to that of the 2010 annual:

Also see the post on Pentagram’s blog about its work on this project: pentagram.com

dandad.org

Rule #82: Cook

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Michael Pollan elaborated on this omnivorous mantra in his 2009 book, Food Rules, which offered 64 “simple rules for eating healthily and happily.” Having spawned reader-created t-shirts, market bags, posters, and plenty of reader-submitted maxims, the book has been reborn in a glorious illustrated edition. The enhanced hardcover version of Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (Penguin) goes on sale today and is awash in colorful, witty paintings by Maira Kalman. Elegantly designed by Claire Naylon Vaccaro, the book includes a new introduction and 19 additional food principles, such as “Love your spices” and “Place a bouquet of flowers on the table and everything will taste twice as good” (Kalman opts for a green fluted vase of hot pink poppies). And while there are plenty of fresh veggies and farm scenes to admire, Kalman’s signature way with pastry is featured in such rules as “Treat treats as treats” and “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself,” which is matched with a Hostess cupcake. “When Michael asked if I would like to illustrate this book, I said two things. First, Yes. Absolutely Yes. Second, that Cheezdoodles had a beloved place in our family history,” explains Kalman in her handwritten introduction. “He did not hold that against me. This is a great country. Vast. Complicated,” she notes, pausing for a painting of a plump sausage floating on a pink ground. “With plenty of room for extremes.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A new body of work by artist Paula Scher takes a subjective look at topography

by Maj Hartov

Graphic design heavyweight Paula Scher‘s new book Maps covers her cartographic artwork since the late 1990s. She calls her large-scale paintings “distortions of reality,” as they comment on our world of information overload in a deeply personal way. When she was a child, Scher’s father—who wrote an introductory essay for the book—invented a device called Stereo Templates that helps correct the naturally occurring deviations in aerial photos used for creating maps. As a result, the artist grew up understanding that all maps contain distortions and used that riff on reality to guide her own interpretations. When Scher started painting her maps, she wanted to create them through her own altered lens, understanding that such inconsistencies were all around her as part of her everyday life—through her own work and the work of others.

Scher’s book of colorful, multilayered paintings present familiar geography in vibrant, thoughtful new ways. Besides being visually stunning, on closer look each map is crammed with geographical information. One titled “International Air Routes” includes airline hubs, flight routes, names of airlines and time zones, while another called “World Trade” outlines ports, trade routes and currencies. The book also features several pages of zoomed-in slices of each painting for closer examination of every angle of the maps.

With the book, Scher takes the reader on a virtual world tour with a twist and her “paintings of distortions” compel us to take a look at the idea of truth within our own reality in the process.

“Maps” is available from Amazon for $30.

Photo book and personal travel planner from our favorite travel agents

Jetsetter and Partners & Spade have teamed-up to launch Bon Voyage, a large and luxurious “kit” that includes a book of photography from the travel site’s best trips of the last year, a certificate for a Jetsetter concierge consultation and a travel journal to record it all.

As difficult as it may be to let go of the impeccably photographed volume edited by Jetsetter’s own Nikki Ridgeway, Cool Hunting will be giving away one Bon Voyage set today on Twitter (see below for more details).

From the fairy chimneys of Cappadocchia to the white walls of Santorini, Bon Voyage chronicles Jetsetter clientele on their customized trips to exotic locales. The photography appeals to even the most hardened traveler, providing ample inspiration for the next international jaunt. The massive book isn’t itself suited for travel but you can grab the pocket-sized journal from its pages and set off on an adventure as the tome quietly stands guard over the coffee table.

Bon Voyage retails for $199 (the concierge service is sold à la carte for $200), at Jetsetter and Gilt, and drops at The Shop at the Standard New York on 2 November 2011. Read more about Jetsetter in this Cool Hunting interview from last winter. To win, Tweet @coolhunting with the link to your favorite Cool Hunting travel piece
before midnight EST tonight, 31 October 2011. We’ll pick one winner to receive the complete kit with book, journal and concierge consultation certificate.